The late 19th and early 20th centuries brought a wave of visitors to the mountains of western North Carolina. Drawn by the fresh mountain air, some of these visitors decided to settle down and build summer homes, while others opened lodges and resorts. With the plentiful supply of American chestnut in local forests, builders used the wood and bark from these giants to create a rustic, all-American style that became known as the “vacation architecture” of western North Carolina.

Then the chestnut blight arrived in the Southern Appalachians, and the consequences were devastating. Mountain families were left without a major source of food and cash income; many had grown used to harvesting the nuts to sell during the holidays in cities as far away as New York. Families would fatten their hogs on sweet-tasting American chestnuts, living on the meat during the long mountain winters. Once the tree was gone, either felled by blight or cut down by landowners to salvage what they could for lumber, an entire generation of Americans would never know the beauty and grandeur of this giant.

While other SRS scientists study how well both pure and hybrid American chestnut seedlings do on a range of sites, they’re gathering the data that will guide the planting of trees in the future. They’re also adding data to that long-term record of disturbance and regrowth in American forests that the Forest Service started collecting over a century ago—data that’s coming into its own in computer models that predict where best to plant trees after a major disturbance. Other models are designed for rapid risk assessment, to let us know about a major invasion such as chestnut blight before it’s too late to do anything about it.

As the blight spread throughout the natural range of the American chestnut, many species of wildlife declined or disappeared altogether from eastern forests. Before the blight, the American chestnut was the most important wildlife food source throughout it range, especially in the mountains of western North Carolina. The single most abundant tree, its plentiful, reliable nut crop provided winter sustenance for deer, rabbits, bear, raccoons, wild boar, squirrels, mice, wood rats, wild turkeys, grouse, crows, and jays.

Today, you can walk through almost any forest in the Southern Appalachians and see the remains of the American chestnut—fallen logs and giant stumps, sometimes several feet in diameter, with young sprouts growing up out of the root collars. Some of these sprouts will grow tall, perhaps very tall, but they will almost always succumb to chestnut blight before they even flower.

In 1983, a group of scientists who had long believed that there was a strong chance of reviving the American chestnut formed The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) with the sole purpose of restoring the tree to its native forests. Inspired by the work of noted geneticist and corn breeder Charles Burnham, the group embraced the idea of using a traditional backcross plant-breeding method based on Burnham’s work with corn. Scientists, including geneticists and plant pathologists, crossed the American chestnut with its blight-resistant cousin, the Chinese chestnut. By crossing the two species, scientists were able to confer a degree of blight resistance on the American chestnut. The ultimate goal: a 15/16 pure American tree that’s resistant to chestnut blight.

From that initial group of scientists, TACF has expanded its national breeding program to include four research farms located in Meadowview, VA; more than 34,000 trees in various stages of the breeding process; and a network that includes 17 State chapters and nearly 6,000 individual members. Today, TACF is closer than ever to producing that blight-resistant tree, though the progenies of its breeding program are still in the testing phase, their value still to be determined on many forest sites over the next decade. By harvesting only the most highly blight-resistant nuts, TACF will be able to ensure that later generations of trees will survive infection and grow to full height.

The first blight-resistant seeds to be tested were harvested in 2005. As seed production is gradually increased over the next few years, these blight-resistant seeds will be distributed to cooperators to test in sites across the natural range of the American chestnut tree. At some point, TACF hopes to harvest enough blight-resistant seeds to make them available to TACF members and eventually to the general public.

At the same time, TACF is continuing its breeding program to make further gains in disease resistance, growth rate, and tree form. A new testing phase that begins in 2009 will include plantings on national forest land under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2004 with the Forest Service. After 25 years, TACF’s plant pathologist Fred Hebard describes this phase in TACF’s national breeding program as “the end of the beginning.” While there is still much work to be done, he feels confident that the next phase of TACF’s program will bring even more success in producing a blight-resistant American chestnut.